His Holiness Karekin II Receives Hermitage Director
On March 22, His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians, received Dr. Mikhail Piotrovsky, Director of the State Hermitage Museum (Saint Petersburg) in the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin. He was accompanied by Ms. Armenika Kivirian, Director of the Southern Caucasus branch of the Caucasus Institute for Democracy.
His Holiness welcomed Dr. Piotrovsky to the spiritual center of the Armenian people, offering his blessings and best wishes, and stated, "We proudly utter the 'Piotrovsky' surname from our lips, highly commending the services that you and your family have provided for our people, contributing greatly to our national cultural life." His Holiness also reflected on the recent exhibition in Moscow of the "Treasures of Holy Etchmiadzin", which was organized under the auspices of the "Year of Armenia" in Russia programs for 2006. The Catholicos also expressed his happiness for the continuing cooperation between the Hermitage and Holy Etchmiadzin, through which there are ongoing plans to present Armenian national treasures to the world.
Dr. Piotrovsky thanked His Holiness for the warm reception and noted, "Armenia and Russia have always had close ties, and we are proud that the exhibition year of 2006 was inaugurated in Saint Petersburg with the presentation of the sacred museum artifacts of Holy Etchmiadzin." The Hermitage director also spoke of his deep emotional ties to Holy Etchmiadzin and Armenia, and fondly recalled his past meetings with His Holiness in Saint Petersburg.
During the meeting, His Holiness also presented the upcoming plans for renovating and restoring three of the four museums located on the grounds of the Monastery of Holy Etchmiadzin.
